The Father I Never Knew
by MagCat
Summary: AU, 6 years post-Guardian Force.  General Ian Kruger considered himself immune to surprises… then came the revelation that he has a son by a woman he thought dead years before.  In fact, he knows him… and the mercenary he became.  Pairings inside.
1. The News

**Summary:**AU, 6 years post-Guardian Force. General Ian Kruger considered himself immune to surprises… then came the revelation that he has a son by a woman he thought dead years before. In fact, he knows him… and the mercenary he became. Pairings: Irvine/Moonbay, Van/Fiona, Raven/Ryss, Thomas/Rosa, Rosso/Viola, Karl/Maria, Rudolph/Maryanne, and others.

**Disclaimer: **Hmm… I don't have a certificate of authenticity stating that I own _Zoids_… which is a pittance, as I think it needs more love, attention and more episodes on the air. I'll let you know when I get the right of ownership, though!

**A/N:** So, I told you guys that I'd return to this fandom sooner or later, and I have. This story is a bit different than the other two as it's not as fluffy (I think) but is more political, a bit darker and, in general, different. There will still be romance, though; it won't just be as prevalent. Also, this will be updated when I find the inspiration; I've a lot of other projects, so this will be one of those fics. that will be updated at random intervals. It shall be finished though… eventually. Enjoy!

"…" – conversation

'…' – thoughts

"…" – Zoids and Organoids talking

**_The Father I Never Knew_**

**Chapter 1: The News**

_**En Route to New Helic City, Central Continent of Delpoi, Planet Zi, 1 December ZAC 2104 – 9:00 AM**_

Five Star General Ian Kruger (formerly a Colonel) had always been an intelligent, well-connected military soldier, and had become more of a hero to those whom he trained in both the Republican Army and the Guardian Force in the six years since the vanquishing of the Ultimate Deathsaurer. Of course, over the years doubts had surfaced leading to questioning of his… "fading" skills but unlike the rumor mills that tended to circulate at the bases he visited it wasn't because he was losing his touch. Far from it; age only gave experience and from that he had become a much better general... meaning that those who said that he was not as skilled a Zoid pilot as he once was were outright lying. True, he was getting on in years, but for Eve's sake, he was only fifty-nine! Not that old, in the grand scheme of things.

"General!" a voice said and Kruger snapped out of his self-induced trance.

"Yes, what is it?" Kruger asked eyes narrowing suspiciously. Who in Zi would be contacting him, now, when he was en route to New Helic City? The capital of the Republic was being rebuilt slowly from the ground up, as the DeathStinger had certainly done its fair amount of damage. This meant that the efforts of his hometown to rise from the ashes were going slowly. Thank Zi they had the Guylos Empire helping them, though. That certainly sped things along.

"General, the Madame President wishes to speak to you as soon as you have gotten settled," the voice said, alerting Kruger to the fact that his visual feed was slightly damaged. 'Damn rogue Guysack and damn escort force who can't shoot their way out of a paper bag. Who trained them? They should have been much better than that!'

"Understood. Kruger out." As the audio channel closed Kruger immersed himself in his thoughts once again. As the steady thumping of his Shield Liger resounded beneath him he couldn't help but wonder what the Madame President wanted from him. Yes, she was his superior, as was befitting the leader of the Helic Republic but he had just given her a report the previous night about his reasons for coming to the city, citing that he had to clear up a problem with his bank account. Every Republican soldier was given a private bank account at the bank of their choice as soon as they were officially inducted into the ranks, and he had had his at the First Republican Bank since he became a member of the infantry some forty years ago. Of course, there were branches of the bank spread throughout the Republic and, now, the Empire but to clear up any problems one had to travel to the main bank, located in New Helic City.

'Time certainly has flown,' Kruger thought as he saw the official welcoming sign (Van Flyheight had jokingly suggested erecting one to let those coming to the city know that they weren't entering an industrial wasteland. The Madame President and her son, Major General Rob Hermann had immediately taken to the idea and so a rather large sign with the Republican symbol emblazoned on it now waited to welcome visitors to New Helic City). 'It wasn't too long ago that I wondered to myself if that damn war would even end. Now I wonder, what is next for me?'

Two hours later, Kruger had gotten settled in the same hotel room that he always stayed in when he visited the capital (a very luxurious suite that, despite numerous protestations on his part was always given to him) and, having dressed in his best uniform (it wouldn't do to see the leader of his country in his dirty traveling clothes) made his way to the office of the Madame President.

As he entered, the secretary glanced at him and, recognizing him instantly provided him with a nametag and waved him towards the elevator. Rolling his eyes at the stupidity of a nametag, for him of all people he stepped into the elevator and, looking around cautiously pried open a secret metal compartment where a keypad sat. Typing in the code given to all high-ranking Republican generals (along with a few Imperial generals and Guardian Force members) he closed the panel and, soon enough, the elevator's gears began grinding as the metal box slowly moved upwards, bypassing the third floor and emerging onto the fourth, where the office of the Madame President was.

Stepping out of the elevator, he looked around and noted that the office looked much better than the last time he had been there. The tapestries depicting the Republic's history (both before and after the last two wars between the Guylos Empire and the Helic Republic) had been meticulously repaired, tears sewn up and colors brightened. The furniture, though showing slight dents wasn't in splinters anymore and had been polished to shine. New cushions had been placed in a pallet of blue and gold, the Republic's colors and a newly repaired chaise lounge sat in a corner of the room, placed in front of the Madame President's secretary's desk. Said secretary was busy working, the clattering of keys the only sound in the silent office; that is, until Kruger cleared his throat.

"Oh, General Kruger! I'm so sorry that I didn't notice you!" the brunette-haired woman apologized leaping to her feet instantly. Kruger waved dismissively, knowing that he had startled her.

"No need to apologize, my dear," Kruger said coal gray eyes laughing. "I can see that you were busy."

"I always am, but you know that it should have been my duty to greet you," the secretary said sheepishly brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Kruger caught the glint of an engagement ring.

"He finally do it?" Kruger asked a crooked smile on his face. The secretary blushed prettily before nodding looking at her ring admiringly. "Congratulations, Alicia."

The secretary, now identified as Alicia Stone smiled in thanks and, holding up a hand to signal Kruger to wait a moment popped her head into the Madame President's office to see if she was free. Upon getting confirmation that she was, in fact, free Alicia nodded for the general to enter. Kruger, bowing, nodded and slipped into the Madame President's office, shutting the door behind him.

"General Kruger. So nice to see you again," the Madame President said smiling gently at the man who had done so much for his country and the entirety of the planet. "How are you?"

Kruger bowed. "Perfectly fine, Madame President. Do send my congratulations to your son for his finally proposing to that girl of his." The Madame President smiled proudly at this, having known that her son would propose to Alicia eventually; mother's intuition, you know. "However, I do confess that I am not pleased that you continue to pile military honors upon an undeserving man."

The President frowned. "My dear general, whatever you may believe those so-called "military honors" that you feel unworthy of are in fact due to you. I may only be the commander-in-chief of the Republican Army but I believe that I know enough to realize when a soldier has earned something." Kruger could just sense the sarcasm inherent in the president's voice. Damn, he was in trouble now…

"My apologies, Madame, for unconsciously insulting you. However, I do believe that those honors deserve to go to the younger generation, such as Mr. Flyheight and his friends."

"Be that as it may, you have earned the title of Five Star General and I refuse to take it away from you." Now the Madame President's eyes were twinkling, a sure sign that she was amused. It never failed; each time she and General Kruger met personally he tried to get out of the position of Five Star General, which had been bestowed on him over six years ago, after he had personally overseen the deconstruction of the remains of the Ultimate Deathsaurer for the scientists of both the Republic and the Empire to study; needless to say, there had been clamors from all quarters to reward the man responsible for giving the scientists their biggest project since the war had ended. She felt the honors were more than warranted; Kruger had refused time and again promotions from the rank of Colonel, more content to work with the rookie troops and, later, Van Flyheight after the first Deathsaurer had been beaten in the capital of the Guylos Empire. Therefore, when she had finally gotten the chance to bestow a promotion on Kruger, there had been several in storage, allowing him to move directly to the rank of Five Star General, despite his protests and assertions that he had officially retired before the entire DeathStinger incident. She wouldn't pull his promotions away now, not even if she were ordered to by the entirety of the Republican Army, Imperial Army and Guardian Force; Kruger had earned them.

Kruger huffed but smirked. In reality, he didn't mind the rank that much, as it meant that not as many pilots had the tenacity to doubt his skills; those that did merely had to talk to the fangs and claws of his Shield Liger. This Liger was the original one he had piloted alongside Van's father Dan in the height of the war, although his Zoid had been updated with modern weapons and machinery. Then they would see reason.

"Very well. That will be another argument for another time, Madame President." Kruger enjoyed the slight frown on his leader's face, taking a selfish amount of happiness that he would be able to argue with her again. However, there were more important things in mind now. "You asked to see me?"

The Madame President nodded before opening a drawer of her desk and pulling out a sheaf of papers contained in a rather tattered looking manila envelope, black and red marks scribbled over the front. Kruger's eyes narrowed. 'All this for a battered envelope? Something is going on here…'

"As you know, General Kruger, since Gunther Prozen's initial defeat seven years ago Emperor Rudolph and a select team of both Imperial and Republic scientists have been digging through the remnants of numerous bunkers hidden beneath the Imperial capital of Guygalos for important papers or experiments that may have been left behind. Just last month, a rather large storeroom was discovered. Inside, it contained files on many different soldiers and civilians, some of whom died in the war, some who lived through the war and some who died during rather illegal experiments carried out by Prozen during his short reign as emperor."

Kruger nodded. He'd been suspecting for some time that Prozen, sick and twisted mind that he was had to have experimented on various Zoid cores in order to find the perfect one that allowed for the resurrection of both the imperfect and perfect versions of the Deathsaurer. But to have experimented on humans, the Empire's people… that was inhumane, sick and unpardonable.

The Madame President continued. "As such, while looking through the papers we discovered an entire cache dedicated to spies sent into Republican territory dating as far back as a century." Kruger, who had remained standing so far, was shocked. _A century_? By the gods of Zi, that was… that was amazing!

"I see," Kruger said not elaborating further. His shock was hidden beneath the mask of indifference he had learned to adapt for the entirety of his early military career. "Pardon my forwardness, but why am I here?"

The Madame President sighed. "While looking through the records we came across a very small cache in a glass case, all of the files detailing the most dangerous enemies, from the lowest-ranked lieutenant to even my son."

A pause. She continued. "However, one file was rather battered looking, almost as if it had been thumbed through numerous times. While it was handled with care one scientist accidentally bumped it and it fell to the ground, the front flap opening and a name was seen in black type." She hesitated once more before plowing on. "That name was yours."

"Mine?" To say that Kruger was amazed would be to say that the Gravity Cannon was a small unimportant weapon. "Why my name? True, I was a major threat during the height of the war when I fought alongside Dan Flyheight but by the time Prozen was Imperial Regent I had been reduced to a measly Colonel at the Mt. Osa base here in New Helic City."

"True," the Madame President conceded an eyebrow cocked. "However, there is more. When your name was seen, followed by your most current rank at the time it was written – Major – yet another name was seen, one which I have not heard. Perhaps you can enlighten me. Does the name "Cerina Vincent" ring a bell?"

The reaction she got was not expected; in fact, it took her completely by surprise. Kruger's face, usually indifferent in the face of reports and assignments was now an open book, tinged by shock, surprise, and what seemed to be a profound sadness. Kruger fumbled for a chair before finding one she kept in front of her desk for the purpose of making her visitors comfortable and sat down heavily eyes wide.

"General Kruger?"

"Did you say "Cerina Vincent"?" Kruger asked weakly once more catching the Madame President off guard.

"Yes, I did. Is there a problem?" By now she was getting worried. Kruger had his head cradled in his hands, shaking it back and forth, almost as if there was something in his mind that he couldn't find… or lose.

"No, yes, I'm not sure." Kruger took a deep breath, telling himself sternly to get control of himself. This was no way to act in front of his nation's ruler, for Zi's sake! "Cerina," he took yet another deep breath. "Cerina Vincent was a woman whom I saved from a rogue Guysack almost twenty-six years ago. To repay me, as I had been rather badly injured she offered to let me stay with her while I healed. This was for about five months, as my Shield Liger needed numerous repairs as well. During that time, we, well, we became very close; closer than even I had expected. After I left, she was the only thing I could think about, and Dan constantly teased me about it; revenge, I suppose, for my teasing of his courtship with Karin Mizu.

"After two months of Dan's teasing, I finally broke down and returned to where she had lived… only to find that her house had been burned to the ground. Horrified, I went into town and learned that two weeks after I had left, a brush fire had begun on the outskirts of town, quickly spreading due to the dry heat and lack of precipitation. She had fought valiantly to defend her small farm and house but was quickly overwhelmed. She, she didn't make it." A lone tear fell down the man's face as his story drew to a close detailing just how close to her he had been in that short time.

"I had no idea, Ian," the Madame President said softly eyes looking with sympathy at the great military man in front of her deeming it suitable to use Kruger's first name. Kruger smiled grimly.

"There are few people who know, and two of them died a long time ago. You are currently the only one left." A pause. "Why does it matter? What would Prozen want with Cerina? She was a simple farmer in a small town near the Red River Base whose family had lived there for generations. She even had the family tapestry to prove it." One thing that both the Republic and Empire had in common was their need to know who their ancestors were and where they came from; as a result, clan tapestries were quite common. Kruger himself had one hanging on the wall of his private office, which traced his family back over three hundred years to a jeweler in the fledgling Helic Republic.

The Madame President paused. "Ian, I am going to be blunt. I have looked through the folder as you are one of my best soldiers and I was concerned as to what Prozen wanted with you. You are also, dare I say it, a very close friend. You helped me raise Rob when his father died and you remained a mentor to him all of his life. For that, I can never thank you enough. Therefore, let me say this as nicely as I can." She paused for a moment before continuing, "Ian, Cerina Vincent never existed. A woman named Raie Kojo did."

Kruger sucked in his breath. Kojo was the name of a very famous clan of spies in the Empire; they had been highly sought after by the Guylos Empire during the height of the war and although many of them refused outright to join the war some of them did… and apparently he had been taken in by one.

"Are you positive?" He didn't want to believe this; not in the least but if it was true… then he could be branded a traitor for his past actions. Almost as if reading his thoughts, the Madame President hastened to assure Kruger that he was not going to be branded a traitor; he had had no previous knowledge of Kojo's existence and so was completely innocent of all wrongdoing.

"One hundred percent positive." Kruger slumped back into the chair hands in front of his face. 'Gods of Zi, I was such a fool. A young man controlled by hormones too much to even notice the inconsistencies in Ceri – no, Kojo's act. Her fumbling of Republican traditions, her lack of knowledge of some of the most basic rules of farming and so many other mannerisms that should have sent off warning bells in my head from the beginning and I missed them all.'

"Is that all, Madame President?" Kruger asked gruffly and it didn't take a fool to realize that Kruger was deeply upset. The President, seeing this decided to let him make the rest of the discoveries on his own.

"No, Ian, it isn't. However, I feel it would be better to just let you read the file instead of my telling you what else it contains." She then slid the battered envelope over to him eyes veiled. She knew exactly what the file contained and knew that it would turn her friend's life upside down.

Kruger took the file and opened it, noting that it had a rather lengthy title: _"This file contains detailed analyses of the man known as Major Ian Ray Kruger, first-class Republican, resident of New Helic City, pilot of a Desert Liger, partner of Dan Flyheight and his Command Wolf Zeke. Information penned and gathered by Raie Kojo of the Guylos Empire, February to July of ZAC 2078."_ Suppressing a snarl at the name of the woman whom he'd loved all those years ago, he continued to flip through the folder noting that Kojo had really been detailed; hell, she'd even jotted down his favorite foods.

'No doubt in case they had to poison me,' Kruger thought bitterly. As he neared the end something caught his eye and he flipped back his eyes moving rapidly down the page.

'This is written in a different hand… was Kojo killed?' This thought was instantly banished as he noted a key word in the middle of a paragraph dated about a month after she had returned to the Imperial capital, or two months after he had left. 'She was pregnant?'

Kruger looked up at the Madame President silently looking for confirmation and the woman in question merely nodded gesturing for him to continue reading. As he did so he couldn't believe it. He'd had a child and he never even knew! Some father he'd been; he hadn't even known he'd had a kid.

One paragraph a few pages after the first caught his eye: "_Due to Kojo's impending end to her pregnancy it has been decided to get rid of the half-breed filth by abandoning the brat somewhere in the enemy's territory. The clan shall then deal with her incompetence. Oh well. She was useful while she lasted, but all good things have to come to an end. Signed Colonel Gunther Prozen, head of the Third ZaberFang unit, head of the Intelligence Division under Emperor Zeppelin III, March of ZAC 2079."_

'They abandoned my child? Monsters…' Looking up he said, "It says here that I have a child somewhere out there; is there any way at all that I can locate him or her? I need to apologize for not being there."

"There was no way you could have known –"

"I should have!" Kruger roared slamming a fist onto the Madame President's desk, enraged. "This was my child, my flesh and blood! I should have known!"

The Madame President didn't say anything for a moment before reaching over and touching Kruger's fist, silently offering him her support. Taking a deep breath, he smiled weakly and continued reading.

'I should have been there…' Kruger thought as he kept flipping through the file, finding shreds of paper written by Kojo herself detailing the horrors and tribulations of her pregnancy and her eventual birth. He then read how she had sneaked into Republican territory and, finding a single mother gave his child, his son – for that was the gender of his child – to this woman to raise as her own. The only thing she had given to their child before she left to return to the Empire to return to her spy duties was a name and –

Kruger's thoughts were abruptly cut off when he saw the name on the paper. Glancing up at the Madame President he asked through clenched teeth. "Is this file correct? Have you checked records?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, we have. We were actually very lucky that we had blood samples for both of you on file. That made it quite easy to confirm the words in front of you. The results are one hundred percent positive."

Kruger slowly nodded his head before looking back down at the file and staring at the name that had been jotted down hastily, almost as if an afterthought. 'My god, all this time. All this time he was in front of me and I never even knew…' For the name that stood out on the paper was one that was unforgettable to Ian Kruger – Irvine.


	2. Islands and Words

**A/N: **Welcome to chapter 2 for my little experiment, as I like to call it. While this chapter does have some romance in it, it should be the last glimpse of it in large doses for a while. Really, it's setting the tone for this chapter: happiness and obliviousness until the house of cards comes tumbling down, as it was. Enjoy, and Happy belated Holidays!

"…" – conversation/worlds

'…' – thoughts

"…" – Zoids and Organoids talking

**Chapter 2: Islands and Words**

_**Lumière Island, Florecia Ocean, Planet Zi, 6 December ZAC 2104 – 2:00 pm**_

The sun shone down on Lumière Island, the spot where Van, Fiona, Zeke, Dr. Dee and Ryss had been when an ancient Zoidian city rose from the depths of the ocean six years ago, though the latter present for different reasons than the previous four. The island hadn't changed much since that incident… except that it was more populated. The group who was now hailed as the "Deathsaurer Killers" had anonymously bought the island as their own getaway, for when things became unbearable on the mainland. Of course, this meant that no one knew the location of the island except for those who purchased the island or anyone they told, plus Dr. Dee received unlimited time with those ruins that were exposed at low tide for more research.

"Come on in! The water's great!" Van exclaimed surfacing from what had been a perfect dive off a rather large cliff. The group had decided to sneak away to the island for the entire month of December… which meant that Van, Fiona, Thomas, Raven and Ryss had had to very carefully leave their jobs without arousing suspicion. What they didn't know was that anyone who noticed their absence said nothing still grateful to the group for all that they had done years ago in their elimination of the UltimateDeathsaurer. This, of course, meant that their jobs were in absolutely no danger; no one in their right mind would fire or punish a member of the "Deathsaurer Killers"! It just wasn't done!

Raven, from his position on a rock snorted. "No way in hell, Flyheight." What was of most interest to the people of Zi was the apparent transformation of two well-known killers into people… well, as decent of people as was gotten when their past wasn't taken into consideration. Raven had decided to become something of a mercenary-slash-Guardian Force member, the last only because it was part of his court-ordered community service. Until that order ended, Raven had resigned himself to being one of Van's… ugh, groupies.

Van seemingly pouted before a large smirk broke out onto his face. He dove beneath the water once more the surface showing nothing except a small ripple as to where he had entered the ocean. Raven narrowed his eyes. He knew Flyheight was up to something; what, he wasn't sure but he would find out.

Ryss, who was sitting with Fiona tanning (or, trying to, as apparently their genetic makeup prevented extreme tanning; the epidermis just didn't tolerate it) shook her head and grinned. Fiona raised a pale eyebrow at her friend, silently asking what was going on.

"Your husband is about to upset my boyfriend," Ryss stated, smirking. Fiona sighed.

"When will he learn?" Looking over to where Raven was sitting, she sighed once again. "No warning him this time?"

Ryss shook her head. "Nope. He needs to get wet anyway; it's been a while."

"Honestly, Ryss. Do you have to talk about whatever Raven and you do when not working here?" Fiona asked exasperatedly only to giggle when she caught the dreamy expression on her friend's face. "He's that good, huh?"

Ryss looked shocked. "Fiona, how dare you talk about such things here in public!" The two Zoidian women giggled. The two had been working together for a little over four years with Dr. Dee, and with both sets of memories more was known about the Zoidian culture then there had been before, including the disproving of the well-known theory on the destruction of the Zoidian civilization. It wasn't due to the falling of the planet's third moon to the surface but the Ultimate Deathsaurer's reign of terror before its sealing in the ancient city of Eveopolis. As a result, Fiona had become more sarcastic and outspoken while Ryss more prone to joking and random instances of full-fledged smiles and happiness; Raven had remarked one time that it was that side of Ryss that sometimes unnerved him. He'd earned three nights on the couch along with Shadow's teasing for a week straight for his remarks.

The two women looked up when a splash followed by a scream of outrage emanated from where Raven had been sitting quietly, enjoying the calmness of the ocean. The dark-haired warrior had been soaked by his rival in a series of rather large splashes. Raven, after a moment of vehement cursing suddenly smirked, causing a laughing Van to suddenly get nervous.

"You want to play, Flyheight? Let's play." With these words Raven suddenly jumped into the water, splashing Van in the process. Van looked around wildly, wondering where in Zi his rival-turned-friend had gone… then felt himself being pulled under. Van barely had time to yell before he was dragged underwater, a ripple marking the spot. As the two Zoidians watched smaller ripples were seen on the water's surface, a sure sign that the two Zoid warriors were fighting fiercely underwater for dominance over the situation.

A few minutes later, both warriors emerged from the water, soaked and glaring at each other. Both smirked before beginning what seemed to be a race towards the cliff from which Van dove earlier. The women shook their heads at the men's actions before returning to their tanning. Apparently, the old adage "boys will be boys" still held true; Van and Raven certainly proved it.

Meanwhile, Thomas was sitting further from the ocean, tinkering with a device that he was hoping would act as a deterrent to Zoids' natural desires to fight until they were destroyed when not piloted. There were still a lot of bugs to work out but like any good scientist he could be patient. He would continue working on it until it was perfect. Then he saw a body flop on the ground next to him out of the corner of his eye.

"Heya, Thomas!" chirped the voice and Thomas inwardly grinned. His partner-in-crime was here.

"Rosa," Thomas acknowledged glancing over. Viola's younger sister had finally convinced said older sibling to allow her to leave the small, remote village on top of Mt. Iselina to venture into the "real world". Due to her gift with machinery, she had been placed onto the research team working under Dr. Dee and had excelled at it, becoming attached to the ex-Republican scientist in the process. It was through Dr. Dee that she had met Thomas and though there had been a few arguments at first (over machinery and their uses with Zoids, you understand) they were, more often than not seen working together on something, heads put together in thought.

"When did you arrive?" Thomas asked picking up a small screwdriver from a portable toolkit; he never left home without it and Beke.

Rosa shrugged, flipping her rather long brown braid over her shoulder. "Hmm, a few minutes ago. Parked over there." She pointed over her shoulder and Thomas, glancing over his shoulder saw the very top of a black StormZorder. He raised an eyebrow.

"Since when do you pilot, much less own a StormZorder?"

Rosa grinned. "Since I blackmailed Sis into getting me one." It was true, of course. She had caught her sister and brother-in-law Rosso making out on the desk of a minor bureaucrat whom almost no one liked one time too many. The man was a remnant of Gunther Prozen's reign as regent and although he was eligible for dismissal no one wanted to take on that task. Rudolph, as of late had been considering letting the man go, though it was not recommended as he still had a lot of information on the inner workings of Prozen's regime that needed to be retrieved, meaning that he had to be watched at all times in case he let something slip.

Therefore, Rosa had discreetly collected evidence of what she had seen and a few weeks before her twenty-second birthday had asked Viola to get her a StormZorder. When protests had been raised, Rosa had nonchalantly pulled out her blackmail evidence and a week or two later had received her new Zoid.

Thomas returned the grin. "I see. Congratulations are in order, I suppose." He quickly looked around for a moment before asking, "Is your sister here?"

Rosa, catching on to Thomas' slight nervousness on the subject of her sister smirked. "She's right behind you, Thomas." The young Imperial officer literally jumped to his feet and stood ready to salute the "Sword of Storms", as Viola was known, only to find nothing but thin air. Eyes narrowing he glared down at Rosa, who was vainly trying to smother her laughs.

"Think that's funny, do you?" Thomas asked only to receive stifled laughter as an answer. A smirk soon overtook Thomas' face after a minute, causing the cessation of Rosa's laughter. Kneeling, he quietly and quickly put away the project he had been working on before picking up the materials and placing them on a nearby towel. Then, taking off his headpiece that held the connection to Beke's position in his Dibison Thomas placed it next to his tools, all of which were soon covered by his tee-shirt. Rosa couldn't help but stare at the young man's back where a faint scar could be seen, running from his left shoulder down to his right hip. Of course, the toned muscles also caught her attention…

Rosa quickly turned her head away when Thomas spun around to face her, a bewildered look taking over his smirk when he saw that his friend was staunchly refusing to face him. Did he have something on his face that he hadn't noticed earlier?

"Ready for some fun?" Thomas asked deciding to put Rosa's strange behavior in the back of his mind for the moment a smirk once more appearing on his face. Rosa, having turned back to him saw the gleam in his eyes and began realizing what he was going to do.

"Thomas, no, I really don't want to –" Rosa was abruptly cut off when Thomas swept her into his arms and took off running for the ocean, Rosa's fists on his chest an ineffective attempt to stop him. Pretty soon she found herself flying through the air only to land roughly in the water, accidentally swallowing some of it. Quickly making her way to the surface she glared at the chuckling Imperial soldier, who was still nice and dry.

"Thomas, how dare you! That wasn't very nice!" Rosa complained crossing her arms while treading water.

"Neither was tricking me into believing that your sister was here," Thomas replied cheekily obviously not caring in the least that his friend was soaking wet and glaring at him in a way that, if it had been possible to glare daggers would have had him impaled to the nearest tree. Her angry look was soon replaced by a sly smile causing Thomas to quirk an eyebrow.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked warily having come to realize that that type of smile almost always foretold something bad was going to happen… usually to him. Before Rosa had time to formulate a reply, Thomas felt himself flung forward and with a rather loud splash landed in the ocean.

"What on Zi," Thomas began spitting salt water out of his mouth stopping when he saw a laughing silver Organoid on the beach. "Zeke…" Said Organoid merely looked at Thomas with the equivalent of a lopsided smile before turning and trotting away towards the small cove where Van, Fiona, Raven and Ryss were hanging out.

"Well, I guess we're both wet," Thomas sighed trying to keep his attention off the deep blue swim suit underneath Rosa's white tee-shirt, which had been on at the time of her impromptu trip into the ocean. Really, it was inappropriate to wear a tee-shirt on top of a swimsuit when one went swimming; it was impractical! Of course, Rosa looked really nice wet…

'Stop that!' Thomas mentally told himself managing to forcibly repress the blush that had tried to appear on his face. 'That's not the gentlemanly thing to do!' Rosa apparently hadn't noticed Thomas' silence, too busy wading towards the shore where she quickly shucked off her tee-shirt, tossing it onto a beach towel she pulled out of her bag. Then, making her way back into the water she dove under the surface, coming up a few feet in front of Thomas' face, startling him.

"Rosa! Don't do that!" Thomas exclaimed once more embarrassed to have been caught unawares.

Rosa merely shrugged, obviously not too concerned with Thomas' reaction. Grinning, she sent a wave of water at her friend, who blinked it away from his eyes.

"So it's that way, huh?" Thomas proceeded to splash Rosa back before diving underwater and setting off for the cove where Van, Raven, Fiona and Ryss were, Rosa hot on this tracks. Every so often, they'd resurface to take in air before continuing their underwater swimming race, each determined to beat the other.

In the meantime, on top of the cliff from which Van had dove earlier, Irvine was seated a stiff breeze ruffling his hair. Although he had helped defeat the "Ultimate Deathsaurer" six years ago life was still the same for him. Now, though, he tended to do more work in cooperation with the Guardian Force than plain old mercenary work. Free work on his Saix whenever needed was also nice; less money he had to spend. In addition to his money-saving tendencies, he tended to spend more time with his friends than he had in the year-long absence between Prozen's first and second deaths.

'Anyone other than those who lived through it wouldn't believe me if I said that Prozen died two times; they'd think I'm insane.' He chuckled. 'No more so than the rest of the group.'

"Irvine!" came a voice and Irvine lazily turned his head catching a glint of white. The sound of footsteps was heard as well and soon enough Moonbay was next to him.

"Moonbay, to what do I owe the honor of your presence?" Irvine asked a smirk gracing his face. Moonbay scowled before plopping on the ground next to Irvine stretching out her legs, which were bare of her typical skirt but were covered by a pair of tan shorts.

"Just wanted to enjoy the breeze," Moonbay retorted eyes narrowed. Catching the playful look in Irvine's eyes she grinned. "If that's okay, _your Highness_."

"Now, Moonbay, you know better. His Highnesss is in Guygalos right now, not here in front of you," Irvine scolded smirking. Moonbay laughed. Honestly, it had been too long since she and Irvine had gotten a chance to just sit down and talk. She had been extremely busy with her transporting business in the past few months to really interact with Irvine, and even though she was an unofficial member of the Guardian Force, she almost never saw him. Sure, she saw Van, Fiona, and Thomas, plus Raven, Ryss and Rosa often enough, but Irvine was almost never on base when she was, or was just leaving as she was pulling in or vice-versa. It was quite vexing.

"True, but who says that you're not royalty in your own way," Moonbay teased grinning. "For all we know you could be some long-lost cousin of the Madame President. Just think, you'd be related to Rob Hermann!" She laughed at the faintly disgusted look that crossed Irvine's face at the thought.

"Ugh. Don't make me gag." Irvine looked from Moonbay to the expanse of ocean in front of him, the wind once more ruffling his hair. "It's really nice here. Totally understandable why the old geezer sent Van and Fiona here all those years ago." Moonbay nodded in agreement.

"Definitely. It's really nice here." She drew a knee up to her chest and rested her arm on it the hand dangling loosely. "So warm and relaxing; just what we need after a few stressful months." She paused a moment before continuing, "So, Irvine. What have you been up to lately?"

Irvine, smirking, proceeded to tell her about the dozens of rogue groups he had stopped (emphasizing the moves he and the Saix had done, of course), the caravans he had escorted from Republican to Imperial territory (even after seven years of peace there were still people in both nations uneasy with the alliance between them) and the training missions he had gone on with Van, Thomas, and Raven.

"It's like I was drafted or something," Irvine grumbled gray eyes staring out over the horizon. "It's not like I'm an official Guardian Force member or something."

"Then why have you stayed with them for so long?" Moonbay asked slyly eyes twinkling. Irvine snorted.

"Hell if I know. Mercenary jobs seem to have dried up," Irvine answered after a moment before continuing, "Money's all I need." For some reason, Moonbay was upset with this answer.

"Really Irvine?" Moonbay asked softly looking at Irvine seriously. "That's all that matters to you?"

Irvine, realizing that he had just given a stupid answer groaned. "No, 'Bay, that's not what I meant."

"What did you mean?"

"Well, I, uh," Irvine began before stammering. Damn it, why was it so hard to say this?

Moonbay cocked her head somehow managing to look cuter in Irvine's eyes. 'Cuter? What the hell!'

Before Irvine could try to formulate an answer, he was interrupted by a yell. Looking down, he and Moonbay saw what appeared to be a small contingent of Zoids heading their way, amongst them what appeared to be a rather old-fashioned Shield Liger on a floating platform pulled by two small War Sharks, and behind them flew two StormZorders and a Republican Terrace.

"What in the hell?" Irvine asked getting to his feet, Moonbay next to him. A piercing whistle suddenly sounded causing the two to put their hands on their ears in an effort to block out the sound. It also caused them to look into the sky where they found a surprise.

"Yoohoo, Irvine! Moonbay! How are you today?" came the cheerful voice of Dr. Dee, who was floating down to the cliff with a rather… "interesting" frog parachute while waving happily. Irvine gritted his teeth.

"Can it old man! You could have blown out my ears!" Dr. Dee merely laughed.

"It wasn't _that_ loud, Irvine!" The ex-Republican scientist landed gracefully the parachute billowing down behind him. Quickly detaching himself from the contraption the old man grinned. "Now, I believe that we have friends to greet. Follow me!" Dr. Dee proceeded to walk towards the stone staircase built naturally into the cliff. Irvine growled under his breath, ready to do something rather nasty to the man but Moonbay laid a hand on his arm, her touch managing to reign in his anger.

"Let's just go with him for now, Irvine," Moonbay declared before smirk;ing. "We can torture the guy later." Irvine thought this over for a moment before grinning.

"Done." He turned around and grabbed the discarded parachute rolling it into a messy ball. "I think I have an idea."

Moonbay, catching on grinned as well. The two then proceeded to make their way down off the cliff with Moonbay almost losing her balance on the smooth stone. Luckily, Irvine caught her by the arm, with a quiet exchange of thanks the only sound between them.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the small cove only to be greeted by a rather large contingent of friends and fellow warriors. Rosso, fire-red mane slightly flattened by his helmet, grinned at the two newcomers, his wife Viola smiling in greeting as well. The female StormZorder pilot had her arms crossed across her chest, leaning against her Zoid's head. Major Generals Rob Hermann and Karl Shubaltz stepped out of the two War Sharks taking a moment to readjust to land before smiling at the group of young adults. Colonel Jake O'Connell, grinning, helped Van's sister Maria out of the Terrace, the latter looking around excitedly. It was obviously her first time on the island. Finally, Five Star General Ian Kruger stepped out of the cockpit of the Shield Liger (obviously his, Irvine realized belatedly) a small grin on his face.

"Very nice place to relax, Captain Flyheight," Kruger remarked looking around. Those with him nodded appreciatively as well, many having not been to the island previously.

"General Kruger, sir!" Van, Thomas and Rosa said instantly snapping to attention, Raven and Irvine reluctantly following suit. This was done for Major Generals Hermann and Shubaltz and Colonel O'Connell as well, the latter a tad embarrassed, apparently still not used to his higher ranking. Kruger waved them off.

"Bah. Enough of that; that's not why I'm here."

"Then, pray tell, why are you here?" Raven asked arms crossed. Shadow, behind his master cocked his head as well. Granted, he had come to accept Raven's… "extended family" into his pack but it never hurt to be cautious. Who knew what could happen to his master if he was not paying attention?

Kruger didn't answer for a moment head bowed in thought. Before he could answer, however, Dr. Dee popped out from behind Thomas, startling the Imperial officer. He was sure that there hadn't been anyone there before…

"We thought we'd all come and join you!" He grinned ignoring the groans from the male populace. "Won't it be fun? All of us here together!"

"Yeah, so much fun. I can hardly wait," Raven muttered glaring at the old man. He had never quite learned to get along with Dr. Dee, even though he had found out that the man knew his parents before Ambient murdered them. The old man plain out annoyed him; that's all there was to it.

Dr. Dee ignored the mutterings from the raven-haired youth; he was quite used to doing it by now. After all, the kid's mother had been much the same way. Always hell and brimstone, that one. Fumiko had been a handful; amazing really that Blake had been able to handle her without getting seriously injured… Ah well. No use in getting caught up in the past.

"I know! It'll be so fun!" Dr. Dee exclaimed throwing an arm around a less-than-pleased Raven. Fiona, sensing danger quickly dragged the doctor off Raven – whose eye was beginning to twitch – and began leading him towards another small cove where she and Ryss had discovered some tablet fragments earlier in the day, with Ryss detailing what she had found to an excited Dr. Dee.

Van heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that murder was not good for the doctor's health... especially when he may have been the victim. Glancing over to the remaining soldiers, he cocked his head and asked, "So, is there a secondary reason that you're here?"

Maria frowned and had just begun to open her mouth to berate her brother for his rudeness when Rob Hermann interrupted. "Actually, Van, my mother sent me here to see if there was a location suitable for the construction of a small house." He received an interested look from the Blade Liger pilot and continued, "She needs a change of scenery and when she heard the rave reviews from Dr. Dee over there," a jab over Van's shoulder had the Zoid pilot turning around and wincing; the good doctor was currently talking about something he found interesting, if the wild gesticulations were any indication, "she knew that this island was worth investigating. So she sent Jake and me over to check it out."

Jake O'Connell inclined his head, agreeing with his superior and best friend. "Any ideas on where the best location is?"

Van glanced over at Raven who cocked an eyebrow, obviously unconcerned with what the President of the Helic Republic wanted to do. Shadow, mimicking his Master copied the action, much to the amusement of O'Connell, who stifled a chuckle.

"We might know a few areas," Van replied cheerfully; _too_ cheerfully.

'Why am I on good terms with him again?' Raven sourly thought arms crossed across his chest. Shadow laid his head on the dark-haired pilot's shoulder, offering him comfort and some words of wisdom through a series of short growls. 'That's right. He is, unfortunately, the only decent competition out there, one that I **will **beat one day.'

"We, Flyheight?" Raven asked skeptically. Van nodded in agreement with his previous statement, causing Raven's annoyance to grow. "Why should I play any part in this farce?"

Rather than reply, Van turned to Hermann and asked, "The Madame President prefers peace and quiet, right?" At the blonde-haired general's nod, Van smirked and, returning his attention to Raven said, "I know for a fact, Raven, that you are familiar with the majority of the more private locations here on the island; therefore, it is only correct that you give me aid in this search."

Raven snorted. "Big words, Flyheight. What'd you do, swallow a dictionary?" The glare that he received for his words made the dark-haired pilot feel so much better. Sighing in disgust, he said, "Fine. I guess I can help… for a price." Shadow nodded his agreement, causing Zeke to tilt his head to the side in confusion.

Van scowled but before he could shoot a reply back at Raven, Hermann quickly grabbed the Blade Liger pilot and, motioning for O'Connell and Raven to follow began leading the small party off away, asking such questions as the average temperature of the water year round and were there instances of snow?

Irvine and Thomas simultaneously blinked in confusion at Hermann, wondering if he was sane. Kruger, catching on to the two men's thoughts chuckled.

"Rob recently got himself engaged," Kruger confided. Thomas nodded in understanding while Irvine snorted.

"Poor sap." The ex-mercenary received a jab in the chest from Moonbay who, ever the romantic was unable to tolerate such blatant insults against a recently engaged man… even if it was Rob Hermann.

"Karl, why are you here?" Thomas asked drawing attention to the two Imperial soldiers. Rosa, standing next to her partner nodded in agreement, having found time earlier to once more don her tee shirt, though it was still damp.

Maria giggled, attracting the attention of those remaining. "I asked him to come, Thomas."

Thomas gaped, shocked, and was even more surprised when Karl didn't deny it. The man merely shrugged eyes remaining carefully blank. Rosa, on the other hand, grinned.

"How long, Maria?" Curious thing: upon meeting Maria for the first time a few months previous, the two women had instantly clicked and for Rosa it felt as if she had another sister to add to her growing collection (Viola, of course, plus Fiona, Moonbay and, at times, Ryss) and for a young woman who had grown up in near isolation with few playmates her age and her sister leaving to join the Imperial Army, no number of sisters was enough.

Maria thought for a moment, not responding. Karl, still stoic, continued to remain standing next to the female Flyheight, face not giving away anything. Thomas, on the other hand, was musing over how to politely ask his brother if he and Van's sister were involved because if it went so far as an engagement then marriage… dear Zoid Eve, he and Van would be, be, uh, related… Oh no…

"Karl," Thomas began haltingly drawing attention to him. Irvine, sensing that he knew the nature of the upcoming question smirked, leaning against a palm tree to enjoy the upcoming show. He cursed underneath his breath when the opportunity was ruined by Maria's reply to Rosa.

"Just a little under two months, actually. It's still kind of new." The woman acquired a faint blush at the thought, to which Karl allowed a small – miniscule, really – smile to etch itself across his face. Thomas was greatly relieved at the news that this relationship was still new, as he knew that there was a high probability that it would break apart and he would **not** have to be related to Van. He grinned and upon noticing his brother's questioning look shook his head, indicating that he'd been absorbed in his thoughts too much.

"Nice!" Rosa breathed and, glancing at her partner figured that he and his brother could use some "brother-to-brother time". "Tell me about it?" Maria nodded in assent and allowed herself to be dragged off by the Mt. Iselina native to be interrogated, the two brunettes chatting as if they had known each other their entire lives.

Karl, letting his gaze rest on Maria for a fraction longer than usual missed the knowing glance that Moonbay shot Irvine, the ex-mercenary shrugging in response. This, of course, earned a scowl from the transporter who was severely tempted to hit Irvine for his nonchalant attitude.

"Thomas," Karl spoke suddenly spooking his brother. "Let's move somewhere else to talk, hmm?" At Thomas' nod, the Imperial general motioned for his younger brother to take the lead, he being more familiar with the island.

Rosso and Viola watched these interactions with nonchalant attitudes and, looking at Irvine and Moonbay answered the unspoken question of their presence on the island. "Rudolph gave us the day off and when we heard that Karl was hitching a ride over here, we decided to tag along."

Viola tilted her head at Moonbay, asking, "Know anywhere quiet, Moonbay?" The transporter grinned and quickly led the two StormZorder pilots off to yet another small cove (apparently, the island came equipped with a decent number of coves) that she'd previously discovered, and as she did so she showed off her impeccable balance by proceeding to walk backwards, hand gestures enhancing her tale of how she'd found the cove with Ryss and Fiona at low tide a few days earlier while exploring and attempting to find the starfish that were rumored to live in the coves.

Of course, this left Kruger and Irvine, the former of whom was beginning to get nervous. Irvine, oblivious to all this pushed himself off the palm tree and moved over to the ancient-looking Liger, which was situated on the sand a few feet above the tide line.

"Desert Liger, huh? That's an old model, to be sure," Irvine commented running a hand along the front paw of the Liger carefully, making sure not to irritate the large feline Zoid. Said Zoid was watching the human below him carefully, knowing that although he meant no harm caution was still necessary; after all, ambushes were always possible.

"Yes, I know." Kruger moved so that he was beside the ex-mercenary running a hand along the Liger's upper leg. The Zoid growled in pleasure. "In fact, this is the same Liger that I had at the commencement of the last war between the Empire and the Republic; the one in which Van's father fought and died."

"No kidding." Irvine sounded impressed, and why shouldn't he be? The Desert Liger had, of course, been repainted and upgraded with the latest weapons possible so that he'd still be a considerable force to be reckoned with but to someone like Irvine, who made a living out of battling various Zoids for the highest bidder and, in turn, being offered the opportunities to casually "borrow" various Zoid parts as part of his payment the differences between the Desert Liger and, say, Van's original Shield Liger were easy to see. The paint was a much darker blue, more in tune with the camouflage-nature of the Zoid and the shield generator was an older model, made for quickness of use rather than raw power. The joints were older yet better taken care of than even those on newer Shield Liger models, and there were some artillery weapons fused into the Zoid's main body, particularly those attached to the Liger's front legs that talked of additions to boost the maneuverability and overall deadliness of the Zoid.

"Indeed." Kruger paused then plowed on, "This Zoid has been through some of the most challenging times in recent history, among them Prozen's dual attempts to control the world and Hiltz' same attempt. Yet, for all that he has been through the Desert Liger is still as war-ready as he was when I tamed him in the Wastes so long ago."

Irvine was impressed. The Wastes were located at either end of the planet, near the poles and were where some of the more powerful wild Zoids existed. To travel there and tame a Desert Liger… that was beyond amazing. "How long did that take?"

Kruger paused. 'Eve, that's been decades! Hmm… let's see. Liger here has been under my command for a good thirty-five years… and the war began a few years after I graduated the War Academy as a foot-soldier at the age of nineteen, and I didn't get to see any action until I was twenty-one, so that means that I tamed Liger at the age of twenty.'

"Well," Kruger began slowly, "I don't quite remember the length of time it took for me to tame Liger here, but I do remember that I was twenty when I did."

Irvine whistled in appreciation. "Wicked, old man." He moved around to examine the Liger's tail and, after some coaxing the feline obliged. Irvine made some comments about the set of small laser guns that Kruger had had attached to the Zoid's tail a good twenty years previous in an attempt to increase the deadliness of the Liger. Of course, he'd been successful.

"I agree." Kruger knew that he was being a coward; he had come to the island with a mission, damn it, and he was going to accomplish it, Eve be damned!

The Desert Liger, almost as if sensing his pilot's distress softly growled,

_"Master, do not be upset nor fret about what is to come. You must have confidence in yourself if you are to succeed in your personal mission."_

Kruger took a deep breath, nodding in agreement with his Zoid. Deciding that he'd not try to play around the bush, so to speak (he was very confident that Irvine would see through that deceit, which, if not handled correctly could lead to even more stress), the Republican Five Star General came to an informed decision: bluntness would be his tool of choice.

"Irvine, do you mind me asking you a rather… personal question?"

A pair of coal gray eyes ('So similar to mine,' Kruger realized with a start) regarded the Republican before curtly nodding in assent, though the silent warning that he had the right to veto any request was communicated as well.

"Very well. Irvine, what do you remember about your parents?"

Irvine frowned. 'Why in Eve does he need to know that? Is this some new shit that I have to do for me to continue getting access to free mechanics and my friends? If not, then what on Zi is it?'

"Why do you want to know?"

"Indulge an old man," Kruger responded smoothly, gaining confidence from each word that fell from his mouth. Irvine rolled his eyes and, mumbling something at Kruger that suspiciously sounded like him being infinitely nicer and more sane than Dr. Dee being the only reason that he'd answer agreed.

"I don't really remember them. Mom died early on, Dad left us, and my kid sister Helena died from some kind of viral infection and fever. I was kicked out of about seven orphanages before the age of ten, so I learned how to live on the street. Became a mercenary at the age of thirteen and almost lost my head by not paying off a gambling debt; thank God for Moonbay and her quick thinking. She saved my ass." Irvine chuckled grimly eyes looking out to the Florecia Ocean before continuing. "'Bay and I have been a duo since then, meeting up every few months for a few drinks and some reminiscing. She helped me get through an addiction to alcohol and I helped her out of her engagement to that bastard McMann." Kruger noted that Irvine's fist was clenched so hard that it was white.

"We've been best friends since, and then we lost touch for a while," Irvine continued unwittingly giving Kruger more information than he had asked but for Kruger, it was like he had found an oasis and was drinking from it greedily. The more information he received from Irvine, the easier it'd be for him to learn more about him. "We only got back into touch when I ended up helping her out of some sleeper trap that she'd unwittingly gotten herself involved in, somehow dragging Van and Fiona into the mess as well. We ended up traveling together and now, well, here I am." He stopped speaking then glanced over to Kruger, eyes narrowed.

"Why the sudden need to hear my entire back story, old man?" Kruger didn't respond for a moment, contemplating how to break the news to the ex-mercenary.

"Irvine, what do you know of the Kojo Clan?" Kruger turned to look at the young man, eyes remaining carefully blank, what Dan Flyheight had referred to as his "Stone Face Look".

Irvine crossed his arms and thought for a moment, knowing that the name sounded familiar... but from where, he couldn't tell you even if offered a Gustav full of bills.

"Sounds familiar, but I have no clue," Irvine shrugged obviously believing that the matter was closed. He was caught off guard, then, when Kruger sighed and moved closer, placing his hands on his shoulder. "Uh, old man? What on Zi are you doing?"

"Irvine, I am so sorry for what has happened in your life." Kruger tried to keep his voice even, really he did, but it was just too much. "I should have been there for you so that you would not have had to suffer."

Irvine, if asked as to what was going on in his mind at that very moment of time would have received a blank look followed by the statement that Old Man Kruger was going crazy. "What in the seven hells are you talkin' about?"

Kruger seemed to draw strength from somewhere as he took a deep breath and answered, "Irvine, I don't know an easy way to say this but, well, I recently found out that I am your, well, your father."


	3. Revelations

**A/N: **Well, unfortunately, real life stole me away from this story for far too long, and if memory serves it's approaching one year since I've updated. I am so sorry about that; truly I am. I appreciate all the patience and kind words that my reviewers have had (and given to me) and hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint. Enjoy, and Happy Holidays to all!

"…" – conversation/worlds

'…' – thoughts

"…" – Zoids and Organoids talking

**Chapter 3: Revelations**

_**Lumière Island, Florecia Ocean, Planet Zi, 6 December ZAC 2104 – 4:00 pm**_

The resounding 'crack' caused anything in the vicinity (among them ten different types of fish) to scurry away before they were caught up in what had just happened. Ian Kruger stumbled backwards, hand automatically reaching up to cover the bruise he was positive was forming on his face.

"How dare you, old man," Irvine hissed eyes narrowed dangerously. The ex-mercenary had reacted on instinct and socked the Republican Five Star General for his false words. "Those are lies. How dare you think that you can say shit like that and believe it to be true?"

Kruger ignored the pain emanating from his face and responded, "I am not lying, Irvine. I am your biological father."

"Bullshit!" Irvine roared fists clenched tightly. Drips of dark red blood began to trickle from them onto the ground, turning the pristine white sand a dull red-brown color. "You are not my father! My father was a barrel-maker from Silver Town near the Imperial border to the southwest of Guygalos by one hundred miles in Republican territory, and even though he treated me like shit because he was passed out half the time from an overdose of gin and beer, he was still my father!"

Kruger shook his head even as he drew out a battered folder from a deep hidden jacket pocket. "Irvine, that's not true. I have proof –"

"I don't want to see your fuckin' proof!" Irvine swore eyes beginning to glitter dangerously. "Nothing you can say can ever convince me that you're tellin' me the truth!" He stalked towards Kruger and raised his fist to throw yet another punch when he caught sight of the battered manilla folder. "What is that, some fabricated shit to try to convince me of the truth?"

Kruger shook his head. "No. This is the official record of Gunther Prozen's spy network from the early days of the last war between the Empire and the Republic on my motives and me in general. Your biological mother, Raie Kojo, took the disguise of a Republican farmer and spied on me to learn of the Republic's next moves. However, when she returned to her clan in the Empire, well, you were discovered. Prozen, who was apparently in charge of those members of the Kojo Clan who fought for the Empire mandated that you be rid of as soon as possible."

Irvine remained silent, anger still brimming at the surface of his mind during Kruger's explanation. 'This bastard thinks that he can convince me to play along with some fool's joke with a battered old envelope of information? Shit, he's lost it even more than I realized.'

"Old Man, listen to me. I don't care what you say 'cause I know that you're lying. How in Zi could you believe something coming from that snake Prozen's mouth, much less something dated over twenty years ago, huh?" He scoffed. "I thought that you had more common sense than the rest of us. Guess not." He walked past a silent Kruger, hands still clenched tightly. He only unclenched them when he heard Kruger tell him that they were bleeding... not that he'd listen to a thing coming out of the man's mouth, of course.

As Kruger watched the ex-mercenary stalk away he sighed. His Liger padded up behind him and gently nudged him, offering comfort. Kruger took the offered comfort from his Zoid, watching his son move further away from him.

_"Master, are you not going to go after him?"_ The Desert Liger was very confused. How could his Master, whom he knew had been anxious and nervous about meeting his son not go after him and convince him of the truth? The Liger liked the human; he knew how to handle Zoids well and knew how to find those spots where a good scratch was appreciated and his words on the efficiency of the weapon upgrades had earned him five stars in his book and a spot on his _very_ short list of acceptable people.

Kruger shook his head glancing up at the clear blue sky, admiring the picture. "No. If I go after him, there is a high chance that he will never accept the truth. If I let him think it over, there's a chance that his curiosity will become too great." He sighed again rubbing his Liger's snout. "I knew that this wouldn't be easy, old friend, and how right I was."

_"Master, how long do you think he will need? I like him."_ Kruger chuckled at the lion-type Zoid's words.

"I'm pleased to know that you like him, and considering that there are few whom you do accept I suppose you feel he should be honored?" At the low growl Kruger chuckled again and continued, "I do not know how long he will need, but if I am judging him correctly, and if he truly is my son, then his stubbornness will not let him concede to the fact that he was wrong that easily." Looking at the battered manilla folder he sighed and placed it in his jacket's hidden pocket.

"How about a run, hmm? I saw a rather flat area further inland from the map I examined previous to coming here that featured some rough features." In response, the Desert Liger backed up a few steps and lowered his head enough that Kruger could clamper inside.

'Irvine, I am not lying, and until you see that day I shall wait.' Kruger's thoughts flew across the island wind to twirl around said ex-mercenary who was deaf to their meaning.

_**Cliff Face, Lumière Island, Florecia Ocean, Planet Zi, 6 December ZAC 2104 – 4:30 pm**_

Irvine had retreated to the top of the cliff from earlier that day, mentally exhausted. At first, he'd grabbed a handful of pebbles and thrown them without care down below, enjoying the cacophony of noise from their hitting other parts of the cliff face and then landing in the ocean. Eventually, though, that activity had ceased to be enjoyable; he'd taken to lying on his back, eyes watching the sky; his eye patch had been discarded and placed in a pocket.

'That man's so full of bullshit,' Irvine thought watching idly as a white cloud drifted into sight. Narrowing his eyes, he scoffed when he noted that the shape the cloud was forming was that of the Desert Liger.

"Can't believe that he expects me to believe him and some battered envelope with proof based on that snake Prozen's words. Just because I respect him as a warrior doesn't mean that I'm naïve." Irvine closed his eyes and let his mind drift to the past, to one full of the memories he had of his _real _father.

_**Barrel Maker's Shop, Silver Town, 100 miles southwest of Guygalos, New Helic Republic, Planet Zi, 25 August ZAC 2082 – 12:00 pm**_

"Dad!" Five-year old Irvine ran into his father's barrel-making shop eyes alight. "Dad, I found that new kind of nail you needed!"

The man he was speaking to was about six foot three inches, extremely tall when compared to the average height of five foot seven with closely cropped copper hair and dim green eyes. Clad in torn but comfortable pants and a tank top of some kind, the man made an imposing image. A cigar was clenched in his mouth and as he looked over at the boy he smirked.

"Lemme see," he held out a hand and Irvine gently placed the pack of nails in his father's palm, marveling once again how small his appendage was to that of his father's. The man examined it, eyes narrowing as he looked at it from numerous angles before he smirked again.

"Finally did somethin' right, huh?" The man's other hand came down to ruffle the younger boy's head, the latter grinning at the motion. Pocketing the bag of nails, he added, "Think you can handle somethin' else?"

Irvine nodded enthusiastically, ecstatic that his father was, for once, totally sober and coherent. Many times he had been passed out on the coach from too much of the "Devil's Drink" as his mother called it and had gotten violent, even aiming at Helena once; Irvine had protected her with only a hairline scar on his forehead as proof.

"Good," the man reached into another pocket on his work apron and withdrew a wad of bills that had Irvine's eyes widening. Taking three of them he handed them to the boy and said, "Run down to _Howard's Place_ and get me the usual. Bring it back here." Not noticing Irvine's downcast face at his words, the man returned to his work, the sound of hammer meeting nail reverberating in the tight space.

"Sure thing, Dad," Irvine muttered turning around and leaving the shop, making his way down the dusty road to his father's booze supplier three bills clutched in his hands. Maybe he wasn't going to be sober after all...

_**Cliff Face, Lumière Island, Florecia Ocean, Planet Zi, 6 December ZAC 2104 – 4:34 pm**_

Irvine's eyes shot open, breathing a bit ragged. 'How in the, I didn't, I, I haven't remembered what the hell he looked like for years... why now?'

Looking to the side, he noted that there were some scars in the earth. Curious, he got to his feet and, moving closer saw that they were natural. Now even more curious, he crouched and ran inquiring fingers over the small hairline fracture in front of him. When nothing happened, he shrugged his shoulders and turned back around to face the Florecia Ocean.

"Damn it, why now?" His words were caught by the wind and transferred across the island to where Kruger and the Desert Liger were running. "Why now am I remembering that traitor?"

Irvine was abruptly brought out of his thoughts at hearing someone call his name and, glancing behind him couldn't help but smirk as Moonbay ran into view, clutching Dr. Dee's stupid parachute.

"Irvine, what are you doing up here?" Moonbay demanded hands on her hips. Of course, she didn't look as threatening as usual due to the bright green parachute lying in a heap next to her.

Irvine shook his head before looking once more at the ocean wondering if he could trust her. Deciding to see, he asked her how long it'd taken her to show Rosso and Viola that stupid little cove of hers. Of course, as he'd expected Moonbay shot him a nasty reply about his attitude and then proceeded to describe the cove in detail, including the tidal pool she'd discovered while escorting Rosso and Viola and the multi-colored starfish there.

Moonbay abruptly stopped speaking when she realized that her friend was intently listening to her describe starfish. Tilting her head, she moved so that she was in front of the ex-mercenary the frog parachute held in place by a rock so it wouldn't fly away.

"Irvine, why the interest in starfish?" Moonbay asked, concerned. Her friend didn't give a damn about sea creatures, citing that they were only good as variants on normal dinners; or at least, that's what he had said the last time when she'd begun describing the types of dolphins she'd seen en route to the island.

Irvine realized that the transporter had seen through the trick. Shaking his head, he focused on the ocean but was abruptly forced to look into Moonbay's eyes when she reached up and grabbed his chin, which upon reflection honestly frightened him. They were simmering with emotion, and they really were kind of pretty up close...

"Irvine?" Moonbay snapped her fingers in front of her friend's face wanting to make sure that he was still with her. "Irvine, what is going on with you? You never space out like this!"

Irvine shook his head free of Moonbay's grip and, smirking straightened up. "'S nothing, Moonbay." He looked over the cliff face to the horizon once more. "It's just that, well," he paused then asked, "can I trust you?"

Moonbay blinked having not expected this question from her friend of over a decade. "Of course you can! Idiot, what made you think that you couldn't?"

Irvine shrugged again not verbally responding for a moment. When he turned to face her, Moonbay was shocked at the haunted look in his eyes. "What would you do, 'Bay, if someone came up to you and said that your entire life's been a lie, that your family wasn't a family at all?"

"Well, uh, I would probably confront them, ask them what the hell they were thinking and proceed to find the truth out for myself." Moonbay's eyes alighted on her friend and, realizing just what he was asking her questioned, "Irvine, who told you that your entire life's been a lie?"

"... Ian Kruger."

"I'll kill him for you!" Moonbay offered smirking. When Irvine didn't rise to the bait she scolded herself for her lack of tact and placed a hand on his arm. "Sorry. My mouth spoke before my brain." She paused then continued, "Irvine. I'm here to listen, you know. Whatever Kruger said to you is not true. You had a family, you had Helena, and you have a family now. You do know that, right?"

Irvine didn't respond for a moment but when he looked into Moonbay's chocolate eyes once more he knew that everything would be okay. How, or why, he hadn't a clue, but it was his gut instinct.

"Yeah, I guess so." Irvine smirked at Moonbay recovering some of his bravado and continued, "I guess you're trustworthy enough to hear the sordid tale." He moved over to a small circle of stones that he, Van and Thomas had created the last time they'd been to the island. "If you'll join me here, Your Highness, we shall begin."

Moonbay rolled her eyes ignoring the jibe as she walked over and took a seat next to the Lightning Saïx pilot eyes narrowed thoughtfully. As Irvine told her what had taken place between Kruger and him, she said nothing so as to not interrupt her friend. It wasn't often that he opened up completely as he did now, and she wanted to make sure that it stayed that way.

"... So then, I punched the guy good in the face, threw away his so-called "proof"," Irvine used air quotations to emphasize his lack of confidence in this word, "and stalked away." He hesitated then plowed on. "'Bay, I can't help but think that even though that bastard Prozen was in charge of this whole shitty operation that Kruger ranted on about, well, what if the snake actually told the truth? I mean, I had this dream about my dad in his shop and for the first time in years, I remembered what he looked like." He looked away. "He looked nothing like me and, for that matter, neither did my mom. Helena was a mix of the two of them, and when I dared to ask why I didn't have copper brown or black hair, or even green eyes I was told that I inherited my grandparents' looks; 'course, I have no clue what said grandparents looked like, so that was probably a lie."

Moonbay shook her head. "Not necessarily, Irvine. I mean, I inherited my eyes from my granddad on my mom's side, and she and my dad both had bright blue eyes." Irvine looked at her askance, and she added, "I looked it up on the family tapestry before I left home for the last time." She shrugged. "Curiosity killed the desert cat, I suppose."

"So you're saying that this whole genetics-thing is actually real?" Irvine asked, still not one hundred percent convinced. Silver Town had been pretty low on the economic scale, a community straddling the edge of prosperity and poverty for almost all of her existence. His family had had the family tapestry, of course, but much of it was in pretty bad condition; they'd had no money to buy the materials to preserve it so there'd been tears in it, stains from both rubbing and regular alcohol and what he'd later found out was not merely a dark spot but dried blood. Not that he'd admit it to anyone, but when Helena had died and he'd been foisted off into an orphanage he'd desperately wanted to burn the tapestry, to keep his family to himself, but his dead-beat paternal uncle had stolen it and he'd not seen it since.

Moonbay nodded folding her arms over her legs. "Sure is. I heard that Rudolph's using it to identify the bodies of soldiers and civilians that Prozen experimented on before and during his role as Regent." She paused. "'Course, those are only the rumors that I picked up from Rosso and Viola today, so for all we know the thing's a failure."

Irvine snorted. "Great. More doubts."

Moonbay sighed and, getting to her feet held out a hand for Irvine. When he took it and pulled himself to his feet she moved so that she was once more standing in front of him. Surprising both him and herself, she leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on his lips before moving over to the frog parachute. As she dragged it out from underneath the sedimentary stone, she commented, "Irvine. I'll always be there if you need me."

"'Bay," Irvine murmured wanting to say something but unable to; Moonbay's devious grin aimed at Dr. Dee's parachute drove everything else out from his mind. "What's the plan?"

The kiss was soon forgotten in the midst of planning payback on the insane doctor for his earlier actions, and when dinner rolled around the two successfully succeeded in scaring the doctor so much that he fell backwards off his seat and backtracked a few feet in the sand. The laughter drew a frown from Fiona, who moved quickly to rescue the man, with Ryss on her tail. Kruger shot a tired smile at Irvine who didn't notice; Moonbay, however, did.

_**Base Camp, Lumière Island, Florecia Ocean, Planet Zi, 6 December ZAC 2104 – 10:30 pm**_

As the excitement over multiple guests gracing Lumière Island began to fade, small cliques formed. Van, Irvine, Thomas and a seemingly reluctant Raven gathered together, conversation turning to Zoid battles and strategies, with small jibes between Van and Raven over who was the better pilot. Thomas and Irvine both protested the assertions that they were inferior to Van and Raven, only to be told that they needed to improve a hell of a lot in order to get any better.

A few feet away, Fiona, Ryss, Rosa, Viola and Maria had come together on the premise of discussing how Dr. Dee's research was coming but, in reality, were trying to learn all of the "sordid details" (Viola's words) of Maria's new relationship with the elder Shubaltz. Maria's face was currently flushed a light red, much to the delight of her friends, who were one hundred percent sure that the Wind Colony native was in love with the Imperial soldier; Maria refrained from commenting on this. The giggling drew confused looks from the four pilots, only to be replaced by firm decisions to not bother with what was going on over there. It wasn't that important anyway, right?

Rob Hermann, Jake O'Connell, Rosso and Karl Shubaltz were chatting quietly amongst themselves, sharing a pot of instant coffee that Jake had scrounged up from somewhere unknown but which was greatly appreciated. Apparently, the subject had somehow become that of Rosso doling out advice to Rob on what married life was like. Jake found it totally amusing that an ex-bandit was giving advice to a Major General and a man who'd been born in many respects with a silver spoon in his mouth. Karl sat there, sipping his coffee (black with just the faintest hint of sugar and cinnamon) and musing over how men who'd been enemies almost ten years ago were now the firmest of friends, and it was all thanks to a young, loud-mouthed boy from the Republic.

'How things change,' Karl mused glancing at the group of four young pilots. 'Six, even seven years ago they wouldn't have even been talking to each other. One was too focused on becoming a mercenary, one a powerful and feared Zoid pilot, one the best Zoid pilot in existence, and the other,' his eyes glanced over to his brother, who was currently arguing about something with Van eyes sparkling, 'the other wanted to be better than his big brother.' He took a sip of his coffee and continued with his thoughts.

'What amazes me is how quickly the world can change, and what a change it was. From a war-torn, suspicious, paranoid society to one that is working on correcting the wrongs of the past… that is a world that I am proud to defend.'

"Karl, what do you think?" Rosso asked smirking when the blond-haired Major General started. "About Rob's idea, I mean."

Jake and Rob sniggered while Karl uncharacteristically flailed around for an answer, with Rosso congratulating himself on making the usually collected Imperial panic.

Further away, yet the closest to the fire, Ian Kruger found himself mulling over his mug of coffee (he'd kipped some from Jake's stash earlier, not saying a word when the blue-haired Republican soldier complained about there being so small an amount in the main pot that was being heated near the fire).

'Today was shot to hell,' Kruger thought grudgingly, having acknowledged to himself that he'd royally screwed up when it came to Irvine. 'Maybe I should have tried to be subtle and discreet, as the "up-in-your-face" approach didn't work.'

Kruger was too busy pitying himself to notice that someone had taken a seat next to him, a tin mug of coffee jostling from the motion. What he did notice, though, was the sound of a liquid splashing as it met another. Looking up in surprise, he inwardly groaned when he saw the hardened eyes of Moonbay.

"So Kruger. How ya doin'?" Moonbay was not pleased with the man; hell, she was beyond ready to steal Irvine's Saïx and deal some real damage to the Republican General's Zoid. He deserved it for making Irvine question his existence.

Kruger sighed and, taking a sip of coffee (he grimaced at the now cold brew) for strength looked at the woman and responded, "Moonbay. Good to see you. May I assume that this is about what I spoke to Irvine about?"

"Damn right," Moonbay hissed not wanting to let Irvine know that she was attempting to run interference for him; he'd kill her.

Internally, Kruger damned himself for always being right. It got tiresome after a while. "Very well. Shall we move somewhere more private?"

Moonbay looked around for a moment before motioning with her head to a clump of palm trees about twenty feet from the fire. Shrugging, Kruger knocked back the remainder of his coffee and dropped the tin cup into the sand, following the young woman. Dr. Dee watched the two walk away and, deciding that some payback was in order sniggered as he followed them.

"Shoot." Kruger leaned against one palm tree, its trunk at an angle due to subtle erosion of the island over time. Moonbay fingered the tin cup in her hands a moment before speaking.

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Kruger answered back crossing his arms across his chest. His eyes were hard as flint, a look that, when added to the flickering firelight cast an eerie countenance upon his face.

Moonbay sighed taking a sip of her coffee, eyes staring at the ground. After a moment of silence, interrupted by the slight murmurings heard from the campfire she cleared her throat. "Is it true that you're claiming to be Irvine's father?"

Kruger didn't say anything for a moment, contemplating how he was going to answer. 'Of course he'd share this with her. If his words from earlier are anything to go by, they care deeply about one another, though I do wonder what their exact relationship is...'

"Well, Old Man?" Moonbay asked voice sharp. Kruger didn't start, used to worse from his days in the war. Before he could open his mouth, however, a flash of white caught his interest. Turning his head to the left, he narrowed his eyes, hoping to figure out who, or what, was spying on them. Moonbay, catching on, followed the Republican General's line of sight and bristled.

"Idiot," Moonbay muttered finishing the coffee in one gulp and, taking aim threw her dented cup, silently cheering when a muffled curse emanated from a form collapsed on the ground. Sighing deeply, she marched over and dragged the form back with her, dropping it at Kruger's feet.

"Dr. Dee. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Kruger asked neutrally, eyebrow cocked. Moonbay, catching it mentally shivered, wondering if it really was true; the look was eerily reminiscent of Irvine in a really bad, pissed-off mood.

The good doctor got to his feet and, muttering a few curses underneath his breath as he straightened himself up replied, "I was merely curious."

"Curiosity killed the Helcat," Kruger remarked softly eyes still hard.

Dr. Dee waved the advice off with one hand. "Bah, nonsense." Pausing a moment, his eyes acquired a twinkle that had Moonbay arching an eyebrow out of curiosity.

"So, Ian. I heard something interesting just now."

"Yes?" Kruger was wary, eyes narrowed distrustfully at the scientist.

Dr. Dee's smirk faded into a solemn look. "Ian, my friend. Do not think me a blight, or even a plague, but merely someone willing to listen." Moonbay arched an eyebrow, not used to seeing the serious side of the genius-cum-mad scientist of a doctor.

Kruger let out a breath before inclining his head, silently accepting the ear of a good friend. Turning his attention back to the young Transporter, Kruger continued, "Yes, Moonbay. I am Irvine's father."

Moonbay let out a breath, not at all sure what to do next. Sure, she'd been half-expecting that answer, but to actually _hear_ it verbally was still a shock to her. Crossing her arms, she wasn't quite sure what to do, much less say, next.

"If that's true," Moonbay said after a moment admitting in those words that she wasn't still one hundred percent positive if Kruger was speaking the truth, "then why in Zi did you not raise him?"

Warning bells blared in Kruger's mind, alerting him to the fact that any answer that he might try to give would probably end up being wrong… and in Moonbay's eyes, anything that he said would be damning.

"I, uh," Kruger began stuttering at the impassive look on the Transporter's face. Damn it! Since when did he begin to stutter? "Look, Moonbay. I know that whatever I say will not change the image of me that's in your mind right now."

"Damn straight."

"But," Kruger continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "I am telling the truth. I am Irvine's biological father, and the reason that I did not raise him was because I didn't know that I had a son until a few days ago."

"Bull." The venom in Moonbay's voice even had Dr. Dee's eyebrows rising further into his almost non-existent hairline. "That doesn't run with me, _General_ Kruger. How can someone not know that they have a kid?"

"Because I thought that the woman I loved was dead!" Kruger hissed moving suddenly so that he was in Moonbay's face. Startled, the dark-skinned woman took a few steps back. "I was told that the woman whom I had fallen in love with and wished to start a family with was dead, killed in a fire that consumed both her small farm and herself. Now, tell me, Moonbay, how I could have raised a child if I had no clue that the child, much less his mother, existed?"

Moonbay's eyes widened before she cast them aside not wanting to look into the Republican General's eyes. Without looking, Moonbay knew that Kruger's eyes were going to be filled with pain and longing, and right now, she was beginning to feel like a real ass for forcing the guy to relive his past.

"Calm down, Ian," Dr. Dee soothed stepping into the tense argument. "She didn't know."

Ian Kruger took a deep breath, closing his eyes and attempting to center himself. He hadn't meant to lash out at Moonbay. The stress of the situation and the fact that he'd botched the entire attempt to tell Irvine about him being his father, well, apparently he'd let them get the better of them.

"I apologize, Moonbay, for my outburst," Kruger said opening his eyes and looking at the abashed woman, who had one arm clutched in the other.

"Yeah, well, I kind of owe you an apology too," Moonbay replied wryly eyes meeting Kruger's in apology. "I jumped down your throat about something that, I guess, really isn't my right to know." She shook her head and reached a hand up to tuck an errant strand of hair behind her ear.

Dr. Dee smiled and clapped his hands together. "Isn't this wonderful? Old friends mending fences…"

"You're not forgiven for trying to eavesdrop on a private conversation," Kruger interrupted smoothly, ignoring the incensed look that flashed across the doctor's face.

"So… what now?" Moonbay asked taking up position on the same tree that Kruger had been leaning against earlier, arms behind her head.

Kruger didn't answer for a moment, lost in thought. Dr. Dee, on the other hand, smirked at an idea that suddenly popped into his head.

"Did you try to show him the DNA results?" At Kruger's incredulous look the scientist primped. "What? My hearing isn't _that_ bad!"

"Yes, but he ignored the envelope with the results and the report from Prozen," Kruger answered reaching inside his jacket and once more pulling out the battered manila folder. Both Dr. Dee and Moonbay craned their necks to view it, impressed that something that small held such a life-changing revelation in it.

"May I see it?" Dr. Dee asked gently and when after a moment Kruger held it out the Republican scientist took it, carefully thumbing through the dog-eared report until he found the DNA test results run by the Madame President's scientists with Kruger and Irvine's blood samples. Despite the fading light as the campfire died, Dr. Dee was still able to read the results, and after a few moments of contemplation he silently closed the file and looked at first Kruger, then Moonbay.

"The test appears to have been run three times for accuracy," he began slowly then after a moment continued, "and based upon the results and my study of the blood samples side-by-side, I can say that Irvine is indeed your son, Ian."

"Can I assume that you are willing to help me convince Irvine?" Kruger asked hopefully.

Dr. Dee taped the folder against his wrist, careful to not harm the documents within even more than they had been through constant use. "I suppose."

"Thank you." Kruger's gratefulness was obvious and heartfelt. His grin of relief faded at the twinkle in the scientist's eyes. "What am I missing?"

"What makes you think that you're missing something, or for that matter, that poor ol' me is up to something?"

Kruger sighed and gently took the proffered folder, tucking it back into his jacket before absently answering, "Well, I've only known you since we both entered the Republican Army, worked with you on a few projects and kept you out of… "that" incident."

Moonbay watched, fascinated, as the blood seemed to drain out of the mad doctor's face at Kruger's last words. She smirked and opened her mouth to ask just what was going on when Dr. Dee moved closer to the Republican General and held out his hand, waiting for the handshake. As Kruger took the scientist's hand, something passed between them and before Moonbay could blink the situation was back to what it had been just before Kruger's ominous remark.

"When shall we start?"


End file.
